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C. Scott Brown \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n
Samsung makes some of the most reliable Android phones money can buy, especially with its Galaxy S handsets. If you want to buy into a family of Android phones you can rely on year after year, even at the cost of innovation, few do it better than Samsung.<\/p>\n
The current Galaxy S25 series is the epitome of this. While the S25, S25 Plus<\/a>, and S25 Ultra<\/a> may not be the most groundbreaking smartphones, they\u2019re still objectively good. They\u2019re well-built, feature-rich, and \u2014 most importantly \u2014 reliable.<\/p>\n However, I\u2019m here to tell you that you absolutely shouldn\u2019t buy any of these Galaxy S phones. As dependable as they may be and as much as some people may like them, buying a Galaxy S25 right now would be a big mistake. Here\u2019s why.<\/p>\n Do you plan on pre-ordering the Galaxy S26?<\/p>\n 53 votes<\/p>\n Yes, the Galaxy S26<\/p>\n 11%<\/p>\n Yes, the Galaxy S26 Plus<\/p>\n 8%<\/p>\n Yes, the Galaxy S26 Ultra<\/p>\n 42%<\/p>\n No<\/p>\n 40%<\/p>\n Why buying a Samsung Galaxy phone right now is a mistake\n<\/p>\n The reason for my non-buying advice is simple: Samsung Galaxy Unpacked is right around the corner. Like,\u00a0right\u00a0there.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, Samsung confirmed that its next Unpacked event<\/a> will take place on Wednesday, February 25. Although the company didn\u2019t explicitly say what\u2019s going to be announced, it\u2019s almost certainly where we\u2019ll see the Galaxy S26 series (along with a new pair of Galaxy Buds<\/a>). With new phones just a few days away, the Galaxy S25 series finds itself in a weird spot. While the S25 models are still very good, buying one right before the Galaxy S26 arrives doesn\u2019t make much sense.<\/p>\n There are a few reasons for this, some of which relate to the upgrades we\u2019re expecting for the Galaxy S26 family. Although this year\u2019s phones are unlikely to be dramatic improvements over the Galaxy S25 line, a few reported changes may be worth the wait.<\/p>\n The biggest of these is the Galaxy S26 Ultra\u2019s rumored \u201cPrivacy Display<\/a>.\u201d Using a new type of OLED panel and light control mechanisms, the S26 Ultra will let you see your phone\u2019s content normally when looking at the screen head-on, but people glancing at it from an angle will see a black screen that hides whatever you\u2019re looking at.<\/p>\n While this might sound nefarious on the surface, there are plenty of practical use cases for this technology. Maybe you\u2019re reading a sensitive work-related email on an airplane. Perhaps you\u2019re texting a family member about a personal matter on the bus. We\u2019ve all probably wanted a bit more privacy while using our phones in public, and the S26 Ultra is on track to deliver precisely that.<\/p>\n As we\u2019ve seen with the last several Galaxy S generations, the Galaxy S26 series is building on the Galaxy S25 family\u2019s foundation while slightly improving it, rather than reinventing the wheel. That\u2019s been Samsung\u2019s status quo for a while now, and it doesn\u2019t seem like it\u2019s any different this year.<\/p>\n Waiting for the Galaxy S26 series is the best thing you can do<\/p>\n If the Galaxy S26 series isn\u2019t going to be a significant upgrade over the Galaxy S25, why bother waiting? Why shouldn\u2019t you go out and buy a Galaxy S25 right now?<\/p>\n While the S26 phones won\u2019t be\u00a0that\u00a0different from the S25 models they\u2019re replacing, they\u2019re still going to be Samsung\u2019s latest; the phones with the newest chips, freshest designs, most recent software, etc. Even if the S26 family isn\u2019t a giant upgrade, it\u2019s still that: an upgrade.<\/p>\n More importantly, they\u2019re upgraded phones you\u2019ll likely be able to buy at extremely low prices. Samsung has a long history of offering highly competitive pre-order promotions for its Galaxy S smartphones, and while specific pre-order deals for the S26 have yet to be announced, we can expect them to be pretty darn great.<\/p>\n For context, Samsung offered $100 and $200 gift cards depending on which Galaxy S25 model you pre-ordered last year.\u00a0 That was on top of free storage upgrade offers\u00a0and\u00a0enhanced trade-in values. Depending on what phone you traded in, Samsung was offering up to $900 in instant discounts with Galaxy S25 pre-orders. We\u2019ll almost certainly see similar promos for the Galaxy S26, and you can already get a head start on the savings with a $30 credit you can redeem using the widget above.<\/p>\n Lanh Nguyen \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n Simply put, Samsung will likely make it very easy to pre-order a Galaxy S26 model for substantially less than the retail price. Considering that, there\u2019s no reason to buy a Galaxy S25 today when you\u2019ll be able to get a Galaxy S26 for less in just a few short days.<\/p>\n Furthermore, if you don\u2019t want to deal with the hassle of pre-order promotions, the Galaxy S25 series should also see substantial discounts following the S26\u2019s release \u2014 making the decision to buy now all the more ill-advised.<\/p>\n It\u2019s because of all of this that I say you shouldn\u2019t buy a Galaxy S phone right now. I don\u2019t think you\u2019d be disappointed with a Galaxy S25 if you bought one today, but why cheat yourself out of a newer phone for less, or the same phone for less, by waiting just a little longer? That\u2019s what this ultimately comes down to.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t buy a Galaxy phone right now; wait until February 25. You\u2019ll be glad you did.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t want to miss the best from Android Authority?<\/p>\n![\"Privacy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Privacy-Display-animation.gif\"\/ "\\"Privacy")
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